


Start Each Day (With a Grateful Heart)

by anaraine



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Multi, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 08:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11824557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anaraine/pseuds/anaraine
Summary: There are still days where Rex can't believe the war is over. This isn't one of them.





	Start Each Day (With a Grateful Heart)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lastwingedthing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastwingedthing/gifts).



Rex notices when Anakin leaves the bed.

The man is quiet, careful in distributing his weight to avoid waking his bunkmates, but Rex notices. Hard not to, really, when the heavy warmth of his left arm isn't slung over his stomach anymore.

He thinks about following. It's not that early. Padmé is generally awake earlier than this, twisting her hair up in elaborate styles and lacing herself into senatorial robes. But the bed is comfortable and he doesn't _have_ to. There will inevitably be things that need doing today, but right _now_ he doesn't need to leave the warmth of this bed. Their bed. _His_ bed.

So he doesn't. He lets himself drift back to sleep, feeling pleasantly fuzzy and warm.

◊◊◊

When he wakes again it is to the muffled sound of water hitting tile. He turns his head to check and spots the fading impression of weight and rumpled sheets. The absence of a robe on the divan also indicates that Padmé is up and taking care of her morning ablutions. Anakin prefers sonics.

It is with some reluctance that Rex gets up, setting his feet on the floor and stretching his arms over his head to hear the pops of his spine. He knows he's slept long enough, but there's something about this bed that makes him want to lay back down and sleep for a year. Maybe two, just to catch up on all the sleep dep he incurred during the war.

(Kix has told him that it doesn't work like that. Rex doesn't care.)

He pads out from the bedroom, a hiss escaping his mouth as he leaves the rug to touch the tiled floor. He's not wearing a body glove, so there's no point in wearing boot liners. But that does mean his toes curl defensively against the cold flextile.

It takes him a second to start moving again, trailing past the sitting room towards the veranda. Anakin is leaning against the edge of a small fountain, a half-eaten kavasa fruit in his hand and its shredded peel at his feet.

"'Morning," Rex says, voice still a little rough from sleep.

Anakin turns his head and smiles. It feels a bit like sunlight, being the recipient of one of those smiles. Warming in a way that makes him feel both welcome and cherished.

Despite how those smiles are becoming more commonplace, they still make his breath catch in his throat.

"Just barely," Anakin returns playfully, his eyes flicking towards where the sun is hanging in the sky and back to Rex. "Another hour and it'd be noon."

"Not all of us are still stuck on GAR time, sir," Rex retorts, moving closer.

Anakin laughs, setting his breakfast on the thin lip of the fountain as Rex moves within range. His hands catch at Rex's waist, toying with the loose waistband of his sleep pants. "I didn't say that was a bad thing."

Rex hums in dubious acknowledgment but covers Anakin's hands with his own, leaning down to press a chaste, closed-mouthed kiss to his mouth. Anakin wiggles his left hand free to place it along the curve of his jaw, gentle pressure encouraging him to open his mouth despite his morning breath. But if Anakin doesn't care, Rex doesn't either. He's still getting the better end of this deal; Anakin still tastes like kavasa fruit, a bit sweet and a bit tart.

"Mm, good morning." Anakin sounds a little dazed, eyes glassy and unfocused even as he looks up to meet Rex's gaze.

"Yes," Rex says, a bubble of warmth encasing his heart. "Yes it is." He dips his his head again to press his lips to the curve of Anakin's jaw, trailing wet kisses down his throat to his collarbone.

The noise that escapes Anakin's throat cannot quite be called a whimper, but it's also too high-pitched to be a moan. His left hand snaps to the back of Rex's neck, a tight hold that keeps him from moving further down, but that barely limits his options.

"You might want to step back from the speeder platform," Padmé says, amusement licking at her voice.

Rex startles, but Anakin's hold keeps him from moving away.

"What for? We're too far away for anyone to get a decent holo," Anakin says, thumb stroking along the curve of Rex's neck. It does a good deal to calm him down, tension unwinding from his shoulders.

"That doesn't stop sludgenews journalists from trying."

Anakin snickers. "What kind of headlines do you think we'd make?" he asks, directing the question at Rex with a exaggerated waggle of his eyebrows.

"I'm sure I don't know," Rex drawls, stepping free from the circle of Anakin's arms. "But I bet the 501st would get a kick out of them."

That draws a full-blown laugh from Anakin, and a wide smile from Padmé, who drifts closer.

"Good morning, Rex," she greets, punctuating her words with a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth.

His answering smile is fond. "I've been told it's almost midday."

Padmé waves an absent hand. "It's still morning for another half-hour at least."

"An important distinction," Rex agrees, and they both turn to look at Anakin who raises his hands in defeat.

"I am running a bit late, though," Padmé admits. "Ani, would you help me with my hair?"

"Of course. What hairstyle are you wearing today?"

"Just a crown braid and eight-strand weave - nothing special. The most important meeting I have today is with Bail, so I can still dress fairly casual."

"Lead on, then," Anakin says, pushing off from the fountain to follow Padmé back to the bedroom.

Rex could follow them—Anakin's been trying to teach him how to style hair so that they have an extra pair of hands when Padmé's handmaidens aren't around—but the rumble of his stomach suggests he would be better served by looking for breakfast.

Anakin's kavasa is still sitting on the lip of the fountain, so Rex begins with that, pulling a segment free to eat rather than biting into the fruit and letting juice spill all over his chin. He bends to pick up the peel on the floor, too - if Anakin didn't come back for it the cleaning droids would, but he's here so he might as well.

The kitchen is well stocked, but Rex finds himself dithering over the choices available. He picks another kavasa from the fruit bowl on the table for lack of a better plan. The skin splits under the applied pressure of his nail, pith catching under his nails as he begins peeling.

(He's about halfway to asking if they can stock some ration bars and protein cubes in the kitchen so when he doesn't feel like preparing food he doesn't have to. It might also benefit Padmé, who eats well when she's eating with others but on her own heads straight for sweet paste. He's almost sure it's for the convenience rather than taste, in which case, rations would be a step up in terms of health and a step sideways in terms of flavor.)

Rex is almost finished with a third kavasa by the time Anakin and Padmé make their reappearance.

"I'll see you two later this evening?" Padmé asks, tucking a datapad into one of the pockets of her voluminous skirts.

Anakin glances at Rex, raising an eyebrow in question and receiving a sharp nod. "Barring any sudden emergencies," Anakin agrees.

"Then I hope you both have a pleasant afternoon," Padmé says, and there's something sly and pleased in her voice that makes Rex want to blush.

He doesn't. But it takes more effort than he cares to admit.

In his inattention, he misses when Padmé leaves the apartment. He doesn't miss it when Anakin sidles in next to him, hands on Rex's hips again and a smile lurking at the corners of his lips.

"Now. Where were we?"

Rex hooks his fingers in Anakin's pants, pulling him closer. "Right about here," he breathes, and stretches up for a kiss.


End file.
